The Country Wife: Full Text and Introduction (NHB Drama Classics)

By William Wycherley

The NHB Drama Classics series presents the world's greatest plays in affordable, highly readable editions for students, actors and theatregoers. The hallmarks of the series are accessible introductions (focussing on the play's theatrical and historical background, together with an author biography, key dates and suggestions for further reading) and the complete text, uncluttered with footnotes. The translations, by leading experts in the field, are accurate and above all actable. The editions of English-language plays include a glossary of unusual words and phrases to aid understanding.
The Country Wife is a classically bawdy Restoration Comedy. 1675.
The aptly named Horner is pretending to be a eunuch in order to gain access to women under their husbands' noses. Pinchwife has recently married an innocent country girl, who immediately falls for Horner. Pinchwife's plans to stop any liaison go badly awry. Meanwhile Horner is giving pleasure to assorted other wives. All ends happily with Pinchwife - and the other husbands - convinced of Horner's impotence...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: Oct 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781780016801

William Wycherley

Author

Book preview

Reviews for The Country Wife

[pgchuis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

'Bawdy' is not an adjective that ever draws me to a work of literature, but I had to read this for my course. It is very much on the one note throughout, and lacks heart, but it had its moments and some of the double entendres were very clever. I even smiled a couple of times. It must be much more entertaining when performed, when the asides work better and the physical jokes are more apparent.

[sanddune_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Country Wife was considered fairly shocking when it was written in the fairly laid back 1670's, and between 1753 and 1924 was considered too scandalous to be performed at all. Mr Horner, a notorious rake, returns from France with a new scheme to seduce the ladies of quality of London. By paying a quack doctor to spread the rumour that he is completely impotent, he calculates that he will be allowed access to the wives and daughters that are usually kept closely chaperoned around him. This could be seen as a very predatory scheme, but the truth is that the wives and daughters are equally as ready to be seduced, as he is to do the seducing, as long as the pretence of Horner's impotency protects them from any suspicion of wrongdoing. Into this mix comes the newly married Pinchwife, who has married Marjory, the 'Country Wife' of the title, choosing an unsophisticated girl from the country expecting that she will be much more faithful and biddable than the sophisticated wives of his friends. But Marjory is very keen to experience everything that the big city has to offer ...It's always difficult to properly assess a play by reading but I can see that a production of The Country Wife could be very funny indeed!

[cappybear · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The plot is virtually non-existent and that the play relies heavily upon sexual innuendo rather than wit. However, The Country Wife was meant to be performed rather than read. I went to see the play just after reading it and found it rather amusing.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While this play was interesting in terms of context, I really didn't find it amusing or even very interesting. The action didn't really seem to go anywhere. It was a just a series of "near misses" in terms of the characters almost getting caught doing immoral things. I don't find the topic of "cuckolds" all that funny. The play was definitely witty and there was plenty of sarcastic irony, but for all that, I didn't much enjoy it.

[anome_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Ahh...Restoration Comedy. Not exactly the highpoint of English literature. Although its influence on post-war British Cinema is hard to miss.Oo-er Matron!